Morning Update: A proposed class-action lawsuit over solitary confinement

Good morning,

The legal battle against solitary confinement in Canada has moved beyond the prisons in a proposed class-action lawsuit against a high-security psychiatric hospital for its alleged use of prolonged isolation on patients.

The court action is filed in the name of Ruben Stolove, a 25-year-old with schizophrenia, and his litigation guardians. The lawsuit accuses the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care in Penetanguishene, Ont., of causing “irreversible psychiatric harm” through the routine use of solitary confinement or “seclusion,” as the hospital calls it, lasting weeks, months or even years at a time.

Waypoint denies the allegations.

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Mi’kmaq chief wants military called in over N.S. lobster clashes, attacks

Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekne’katik First Nation said he doesn’t welcome the RCMP, and said the army is needed to prevent commercial fishermen from “taking the law into their own hands.”

On Friday, a suspicious fire destroyed a lobster pound in Middle West Pubnico just a few days after it was ransacked by an angry mob.

“This was retaliation,” Mr. Sack said. “We’re being targeted now. These are hate crimes.”

Context:

• Commercial fishermen have been violently protesting against the launch of a Mi’kmaq First Nation’s “moderate livelihood” lobster fishery outside of the federally regulated season.
• Earlier in the week, two more violent clashes involving hundreds of people outside lobster pounds that store Indigenous-caught lobster also took place, destroying property.

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After years of debate, Asbestos, Que., is getting a new name in hopes it will help the economy

After years of debate, the local council will release results of a five-day popular vote on a replacement name this evening, taking a major step toward cutting ties with a toxic word.

The decision may seem obvious but it has been agonizing to arrive at and still has opponents. But it comes down to this: many believe that abandoning the name Asbestos will be good for the economy.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Suicide by rural men account for most gun deaths in Ontario: The study, published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed more than 6,400 firearm-related incidents in Ontario from 2002 to 2016.

Nanosilver found to harm fish in lake study: Researchers who laced a Northern Ontario lake with the material as part of a multiyear experiment, say the adverse effects they measured in two species of fish were significant enough to warrant including the unregulated substance as part of Canada’s water safety guidelines for the metal.

Parents cope with slow coronavirus test results, mixed messaging from schools and officials: Globe and Mail examinations of the testing and contact-tracing systems across the country in the past week showed most jurisdictions struggle to deal with cases in the 24-hour period required for effective management.

B.C. political parties grapple with issue of seniors care, mental health: But experts say their core infrastructure promises likely won’t be enough to meet the future needs of the province’s population of aging and ailing baby boomers.

Small business owners fear for survival, wish they had sold out earlier: A new survey by consultancy KPMG Canada indicated this could mean a wave of consolidation.

MORNING MARKETS

Asian financial markets soared on Monday after China reported its economy grew at a 4.9% annual pace in the last quarter, with consumer spending and industrial production rising to pre-pandemic levels. Japan’s Nikkei 225 led the gains, adding more than 1%. European stocks tracked those gains, although concerns over tougher business restrictions in the UK kept demand for risky assets in check. New York futures pointed to a higher start in North America as well.

Looking for investing ideas? Check out The Globe’s weekly digest of the latest insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and what investors need to know for the week ahead. This week’s edition includes three utilities picks, pipeline opportunities and six income-generating ETFs.

WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

The outdated myth of the ‘growth at all costs’ entrepreneur is hurting women

Jill Earthy and Kim de Laat: “Let’s also redesign the institutions and cultures that perpetuate the unequal treatment of women, people of colour and all equity-seeking communities in the economy and beyond. This includes redefining what entrepreneurial success looks like, and how we measure it.”

Taking risks can be good. But are we growing too bold when it comes to COVID-19?

Mark Kingwell: " Support front-line workers and local business. Don’t hoard. Be patient as well as brave. None of these things will kill you, but not doing them might just kill somebody else."

TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON

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LIVING BETTER

Nine new Canadian albums to listen to right now

It was recently reported in Science magazine that during the COVID-19 shutdown, the songbirds of San Francisco have changed their tunes. With less noise to compete with, the warblers increased the frequency of their songs, but at lower decibels than before.

The same phenomenon seems to be happening in the Canadian indie-music scene, where the soft-rock sounds are mellifluous and multiplying. “Can you hear my voice?” Toronto’s Luka Kuplowsky’s sings on Sayonara Blue, off his sublime new LP Stardust.

Brad Wheeler has a list of albums for you to check out, including other low-key new music from fellow singer-songwriters Bahamas and Jennifer Castle.

MOMENT IN TIME: News photo archive

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Nurses push back, 1989

For more than 100 years, photographers have preserved an extraordinary collection of 20th-century news photography for The Globe and Mail. Every Monday, The Globe features one of these images. This month, we’re celebrating nursing.

On a bitterly cold day in January, 1989, 350 nurses marched along University Avenue in Toronto to the provincial legislature, following a route that led them past several of the city’s big downtown hospitals. Globe and Mail photographer Erik Christensen captured this image of Paula Greenwood Callens, one of the nurses who took to the streets, demanding higher pay and better working conditions. It was the first time Greenwood Callens, a nurse for 15 years at Women’s College Hospital, had ever marched for anything. She was part of a new militancy among nurses. In Saskatchewan, nurses went on strike in October, 1988, forcing many hospitals in the province to discharge thousands of patients and cancel all but emergency surgery. That same year, the United Nurses of Alberta were found guilty of contempt of court for carrying out an illegal 19-day strike. Karen Howlett

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